Vance provides update on shooting investigation

In Newtown, State Police Lt. J. Paul Vance said that both Nancy Lanza’s home on Yogananda Street and Sandy Hook Elementary School will remain guarded crime scenes for the foreseeable future, although furniture will be moved out to Chalk Hill School in Monroe, where the children will be moved.

Vance said State troopers remain attached to the victims’ families. “Again I have to ask and plead – and literally the word is plead – families are grieving, and if any of the families have asked, please show them their privacy as they go through this terrible, terrible tragedy that they’re dealing with,” Vance said.

He said there were two threats of violence telephoned against St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church. “Those are criminal acts,” he said. “Those are acts that are thoroughly and completely investigated and follow-up will be done by either state and/or federal authorities relative to any threats of that nature that someone would set forth,” Vance said.

“We did seize significant evidence at the residence,” Vance said, declining to confirm reports that Adam Lanza attempted to destroy at least one computer hard drive in the Yoganada Street home he shared with his mother, whom he apparently murdered before driving her car to the school for his murderous rampage.

Vance said that “if” computer equipment was seized, there is a State Police unit that specializes in retrieving electronic evidence and data.

“We do not discuss evidence, its content or detail what it is,” Vance said, adding that two adults escaped with non-life-threatening wounds in the massacre. He said that full details will eventually emerge.

“The answers are for the poor victims, the families, the people of Connecticut that need to know and see a clear picture as to exactly what happened here,” Vance said. “We’re going to do everything that it takes to ensure that we uncover every bit of evidence; that we examine every facet of it; that we conduct as many interviews with everyone that we need to do to paint a clear picture as to exactly how and why this tragedy occurred.”

He quoted local school authorities who confirmed that Nancy Lanza had no connection to Sandy Hook Elementary School, where Adam Lanza had attended about 10 years ago.

“We know as investigators that the people of Connecticut, the people of this town of Newtown, want to know what happened,” Vance said. “We’re going to do that. We’ll paint a crystal-clear picture, as much as we possibly can. But it is a slow process. It’s not something that’s just done in 60 minutes as you see on TV.”

One Response

Thank goodness we have Lt. Vance and his clear, rational, and helpful communication. He is the opposite of the “gotta have it now” mentality of so much of the press. The press that sacrifices substance for speed does more harm than good and makes the old phrase “Don’t believe everything you read” ring true. Fast food news? I pass. I’ll wait for the honest, organic stuff that Lt. Vance is serving up.